Vietnam may export fertilizer products by 2010 thanks to increased fertilizer factory construction, although the local farming industry currently still depends on imports, industry insiders forecast.
Trinh Thanh Binh, general director of PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical Co, or PVFCCo, which provides 40 per cent of urea for the local market, said that by 2010 they expect to dominate the local market and improve product quality for export to foreign countries.
The global price of urea has grown on average 50 per cent in the last 50 years, while the domestic price has leaped 25-30 per cent since the beginning of this year, Binh said.
PVFCCo has estimated it and Ha Bac Fertilizer and Chemical will raise capacity to meet 40-50 per cent of local demand.
Vietnam will be in a position to export urea by 2010, as many factories will go into operation in the next few years.
Ninh Binh factory will produce a total of 560,000 tons a year, and Ca Mau gas-power and fertilizer project will be able to supply 760,000-800,000 tons annually.
Ha Bac Fertilizer and Chemical factory has received approval from the Government to increase its capacity to 400,000 tons.
Phung Ha, deputy head of the Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy and Chemical Department of the Ministry of Industry, said local fertilizer factories would be able to supply a greater volume than needed by the local market.
Therefore, they should map out a plan to export the item abroad, he said.
Last year, PVFCCo produced 618,000 tons of urea and imported 28,000 tons for the local market. They plan to provide 740,000 tons this year. Ha Bac Fertilizer and Chemical factory supplies an average of 150,000-165,000 tons of urea per year.
Vietnam’s annual urea demand is put at 1.6-2 million tons. Local factories can only meet around 50 per cent of total demand, the remaining is imported from China, Russia and the Middle East.
Domestic fertilizer prices have recently gone through the roof and are set to continue their upward trend, based on an extreme shortage caused by rising global prices and stockpile mismanagement.
Estimates show that around 430,000 tons of fertilizer is needed for the forthcoming summer-autumn crop, but the Vietnam Fertilizer Association admitted only 280,000 tons have been stockpiled.
They warned the shortage would continue hurting Vietnamese fertilizer markets in the next several years if no effective demand forecast measures were adopted. (Saigon Times Daily)
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